November 30, 2023, 4:00 pm-6:00 pm (ET)
In this interactive workshop, participants will have time to dive deeply into the scoring and review processes they use to award grants, apprenticeships, fellowships, and other competitive awards, and brainstorm concrete improvements they can implement to increase equity. The workshop will start with an overview of grant/award review tips and best practices focusing specifically on the adjudication process, including developing and refining criteria, decreasing reviewer bias, increasing transparency, and designing scoring guides or rubrics that increase reviewer reliability. Next, participants will have solo time to reflect on changes or supports they may want to implement in their organization’s scoring processes. This will be followed by small group work where participants will have the opportunity to ask peers for feedback or advice on their organization’s existing scoring rubrics, if desired.
Participants should plan to bring a copy of the materials they use for grant/award review such as training guides for reviewers/panelists, scoring rubrics, scoring criteria, and application guidelines. Note; This will be for your own use and you are not required to share this information with peers unless you would like external feedback and help troubleshooting.
Participants will also be asked to review a 1 hour recording of a presentation on Equitable Grantmaking in Folk and Traditional Arts (90mins) by Amy Kitchener and Langston Collin Wilkins on the Resource Hub. The password for the Resource Hub is ResourceAccess22.
Workshop Recording
Coming soon!
About the Facilitators
Rina Rossi is an independent consultant and advocate for traditional artists in the Midwest. She recently completed an 8 year term as a program officer for the Minnesota State Arts Board where she managed four grant programs including a folk and traditional arts program, a festival support program, a touring artists program, and two general support programs for individuals and arts and non arts organizations. During her tenure at the Arts Board, she focused on using data-informed supports to improve the scoring/adjudication process in service of increasing equity. As a result of improvements that she and her colleagues worked to implement, the agency moved millions of dollars to organizations led by leaders of color and individuals identifying as artists of color, artists and arts groups in greater Minnesota (rural and small town residents), artists with disabilities, and organizations that exist to serve individuals with disabilities.
Natalie Kennedy is the Director of Statewide Engagement at the Bell Museum. Natalie is responsible for the development and delivery of public programs and other initiatives that support engagement with the Bell beyond the museum’s walls and with diverse communities across the state. She holds a Masters in Nonprofit Management from Hamline University and a Bachelor of Arts from Carleton College. Natalie has focused her career on seeking and revealing alignment between organizational mission and community needs and has worked to advance the interests of communities by helping to shape responsible and responsive organizational leadership, engagement, and equitable access. Natalie co-founded and co-chairs the Minnesota Access Alliance and spent 6 years as a program officer for the Minnesota State Arts Board where she managed grant programs designed to increase and diversify access and encourage lifelong learning for Minnesotans across the state. She is an Americans for the Arts Fellow alumnus, an inaugural member of the artEquity BIPOC leadership circle, and since joining the Bell in spring 2021 Natalie has become a Minnesota Master Naturalist. Natalie currently serves on the boards of Walker West Music Academy and the Minnesota Youth Symphonies in St Paul, Minnesota.